In Parshas Behar we have an interesting Halacha. A Jew who lost all his money and is in a terrible financial situation may sell himself as a slave. The Passuk tells us that he can even sell himself to a non-Jew. The Passuk tells us that if a person reached such a level of poverty and sold himself to a non-Jew there is a Mitzva on his relatives or anyone from Klal Yisrael to redeem him and release him from being a servant or a slave to a non-Jew.
Let us imagine that a Jew lost his entire livelihood and wasn’t able to withstand the dire poverty. He went and sold himself as a servant to a priest to work for him in the church. No doubt we would imagine that our first Mitzva is to go and demonstrate against him, to banish him and cut him off from all connections from the community.
But the Torah says something entirely different. He didn’t do it on purpose he was drawn there against his will. Buy him back, redeem him from his master and bring him back home.
Mendel Shub was born in Hungary to a poor family. He was a brilliant boy and at a very young age everyone knew he had a great future. As a teenager before he was even married he was a great Talmid Chacham. He studied to become a Rabbi. He passed all the tests and then applied for a position.
But being so young, a bachelor and rather haughty he was declined one Rabbinical position after another. As he failed in one place after another he began to become depressed and very bitter. The embarrassment of the Community leaders that voted against him, the Rabbis that were anti him receiving a position and seeing other candidates receiving those positions was just too much for him.
Finally, after he had enough he decided to take revenge and get back at everyone. He gave up his religion, converted and studied to become a priest. There, they knew how to appreciate his brilliance and potential. It didn’t take too long and Mendel became a Cardinal.
But for Mendel that was only the beginning. In those times anti-Semitism was very powerful in Hungary. There were regular pogroms against the Jews, burning their stores, and causing destruction to Jewish Communities, not to mention the casualties and victims.
Cardinal Mendel Shub gave fiery sermons saturated with hate, embedded with excerpts taken completely out of their context. He did everything to arouse as much hatred against the Jews as possible.
Then the Second World War broke out and chaos reigned all over Europe. The war ended, six million Jews were killed but Mendel survived the war.
One day Mendel arrived at the home of Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal zt”l, the Skulener Rebbi. He entered the Rabbi’s study and all he managed to say in a whisper was, “I am Mendel Shub I want to repent.”
The Rebbe gave him a guide to repentance. The Rebbi didn’t overload him with too much. But Mendel suffered great shame and embarrassment from his fellow Jews who had suffered from him. Mendel accepted all the shame in silence and understood that this was his path of true Teshuva.
He spent the rest of his life praying, fasting, saying Tehillim to atone his terrible past. In his later years he immigrated to Eretz Yisrael where he passed away and is buried in Teveria.
During one of his conversations with the Skulener Rebbe, the Rebbi asked him the following question. “Mendel, tell me why did you remain with your family name, Shub, why didn’t you ever change it for a non-Jewish name?”
Mendel gave an amazing reply. “Rebbi,” he said, “I kept the name Shub because Shub in Hebrew means to return and I knew deep down in my heart that one day I would return.”
Who can understand the power of a Yiddishe Neshama? Throughout Jewish history we see so many times how Jews fell very low but when it came to certain challenges, especially in Emunah suddenly the fire was there, the strength to withstand and give up their lives for Hashem.
The following message is so applicable in today’s generation too. Many of our youth have fallen so low spiritually. Their poverty has reached such a level that they are willing to sell themselves as slaves to the non-Jewish world to try and satisfy their hunger.
But we must remember the Mitzva isn’t to push them away or condemn them, the Mitzva is to go, redeem them and try and bring them back home. No matter how far a Jew may have fallen the small fire of the Neshama is still alight and we can never know when it will start glowing.
